Within The Shadows
by zman1289
Summary: [Complete] Five years after Naraku's defeat destinies coin has landed. And now the question becomes, will he abide by its outcome?
1. An Uninvited Guest

A/N: Now give me a break here; this is the first story I've ever written that doesn't involve hardcore comedy. Also, I haven't created a single chapter for this site in over half a year, so be kind while also giving me some constructive criticism. If I don't get enough reviews I shall junk this story and slink away into my shadowy corner. Please allow 3-5 days for updates since I have no idea where I will be going with this story for the middle chapters. Other-than-that, I shall let you read on and hopefully you will enjoy my latest piece of work.

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**Chapter 1**

Inuyasha allowed his mind to wonder as he stared into the endless void of the midnight sky. It had been five years since that fateful day when the group had parted and gone their separate ways. He knew that it had been his fault, or at least he felt it was. If only he could have expressed his feelings before it was too late. Inuyasha thought about why he didn't just go back now, it was not like Kagome had a man in her life. Maybe he was afraid of rejection; after all, he had crushed her heart with his own stubborn attitude.

Inuyasha perched himself onto a nearby tree as he pondered everything that was going through his head at the moment. Slowly, sleep overcame him and he entered a world full of mystery and mystique.

He awoke to find that dawn had broken, and as he wiped the crust and sleep from his eyes, he leaped down from the tree and headed toward the river to wash his face. A strange feeling had overcome him, something wasn't quite right. Yet he did not smell any entities in the area.

"Inuyasha" Inuyasha quickly spun around to gaze upon an ordinary man, at least from the looks of it. He slowly wrapped his hand around the Tetsuiga while wondering why this person had no scent whatsoever.

"Take your hand off that sword if you wish to live another day." Inuyasha released a low growl, causing this mysterious man to let out a cold, cruel hearted laugh that would make anybody shiver to their cores. "I do not wish to kill you now, you're not worthy of such an easy way out. I know how much that Kagome wench means to you, which is why I am here."

Inuyasha felt a surge of pure hatred emanate from him just at that freak mentioning Kagome's name with such disrespect. He loved her, and he would never let anything ever happen to her, even if that meant sacrificing his own life. "When the dagger of the Four Suns pierces her heart, then the ritual will be complete."

His glare shook Inuyasha up until he could take it no more. "Damn you to hell!" He screamed as he drew his sword leaping towards him…and slicing thin air. It was if he had just vanished from the scene.

Inuyasha's mind was bogged down with so many questions, like why had this man let him know his plan ahead of time? He knew he had to try and fix his hot temper; it may have cost him a good deal of answers. At that one moment he uttered out a single word as he began to panic. "Kagome" He knew that he had to reach her before he did, knowing full well that he didn't have much time. Inuyasha quickly took off towards the old abandoned well that hadn't been used in years. It had begun to chip away with age as he examined it closer. Quickly, he gathered his strength and leapt in. As he emerged on the other side, old memories began to flood back to him of all the times he had come here, it seemed so long ago.

The window to Kagome's room was wide open, making it much easier for him to reach it. He jumped through to find her lying on her bed. There was a long moment of silence between them; Kagome had never thought he would ever come back. After five years of waiting and wondering, he was finally there. "Inu…" She started, but was cut off when suddenly the man from earlier burst through another window and stared Kagome down with his fiery red eyes. Kagome was still quite puzzled. "W-who a-are y-you?" She was able to stammer out.

"My name is Techbu; I have been in hiding among the people of your world for many years now. Finally, I have grown strong enough to fulfill my destiny, and it all begins with you." Techbu raised a single bony finger and pointed it straight at Kagome. "I will now take what is rightfully mine."

Inuyasha quickly drew the Tetsuiga in a ditch effort to force Techbu back. Unfortunately, a giant lightning bolt shot across the room and nailed Inuyasha in the chest sending him flying into a nearby wall rendering him unconscious. Techbu proceeded to pick the screaming Kagome up and teleported them out of the room. Inuyasha was left behind, and as his mind drifted back in time he began to dream about the day it all happened.

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A/N: So what did you think? Don't worry, it will pick up a lot in later chapters, this was really just kind of setting up the scenario for the rest of the story. If any of you could tell me how to spell all the weapons from the four main characters that would be great, I'll need it for my flashback episode. I would prefer if you e-mailed it to me, but just post it in a review if you can't get through to me. Thanks, also updates won't really start coming until Christmas vacation, which for me is this upcoming Wednesday which at that point I'll be tossing out a chapter every day or two. So please review and thanks in advance! Hoped you enjoyed the first chapter!


	2. Visions

A/N: Thanks to everyone who was nice enough to review my story, I never thought it would get this popular. Either way, I'm going to start two new things to make it a little easier to understand. First, when I use these that means a person is dreaming, like how this one starts off with Inuyasha's dream. Also, when I _italicize_ something that means they are talking to themselves, think of it like being in deep thought. Anyway, updates will come once or twice a week with the exception of holidays, like when Christmas comes you can expect a new chapter every couple of days. Chapter two is a bit dull, as it just reveals some more of the plot, and how they all split up. It may not go along with how the series ended, but it doesn't matter because this is fan fiction anyway. So I hope you enjoy it, and please review and tell me how I'm doing afterwards, as I never get tired of reading what you guys have to say.

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**Chapter 2**

"Inuyasha, I need to know now." Kagome stared into his eyes perhaps searching for an answer that would never come. "I don't want to spend my whole life wondering whether you will ever return my feelings."

He didn't know what to say or do; he loved her, yet part of him didn't want to admit it. _Maybe I just don't want her to get hurt? But with Naraku gone what is there left to protect her from? There must be a different reason_...

"Lecher!" Cut through the cold silence between them as Sango ripped into Miroku with continuous slaps almost knocking him unconscious.

Inuyasha's concentration was now broken and he again came under the scornful glare of a girl who wanted an answer now. Yet one never came. "That's it, I'm going back to my own time, and I don't want to see you again until you can finally open up to me!" The young Miko slowly walked away with tears flowing down her cheeks, she hoped that one day he would come for her. Little did Kagome know at the time she would never see him again, at least not for another five years when a new evil had awoken from the shadows.

Inuyasha was left there by himself just thinking, he couldn't believe what had just happened. Why couldn't he tell her, why wasn't he chasing after her right now? What was holding him back? His head slowly hung in defeat, as he knew that he would never be able to fully love her.

The extremely dazed Miroku inched his way over to Inuyasha questioning him as to why he was so upset, though he just refused to answer.

Miroku knew that the good times were over, Kagome had left, and after that last groping he had attempted on Sango, she also stormed out. Maybe it was time for him to leave also? There were plenty of other women to grope in other areas of the world. And it was his duty to request that they bare his children. He always did have an interest in traveling all over the land, maybe he would just visit some old friends and stay with them for a while. So he left Inuyasha to mourn by himself after taking one last glance at him, perhaps in an attempt to see if he needed him to stay, yet he got no signal. A small tear dropped from Inuyasha's eye as he collapsed onto the ground and waited for sleep to overcome him.

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Kagome awoke to find that she was now chained to a wall. Her head was still spinning from when Techbu had knocked her out. Slowly, she regained her vision and surveyed her surroundings. She was in a very dark place, lit only by a few candles laid out at strategic points so that the room had an eerie glow to it. Old bones hanged from shackles that gave the place a dungeon feel. There were large tables spread all over with papers and maps strewn about on them as if there was a violent struggle.

The doors to the "dungeon" creaked open and Techbu stepped in. He seemed to act as if she wasn't even there. Quickly he thumbed through stacks of papers as if looking for something. "Here it is." He murmured to himself as he exited with the map he came for. Soon he would get the final piece of the puzzle…

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Inuyasha awoke from his slumber to find that he was still in Kagome's room, he attempted to get up but the pain in his gut forced him back down. He vaguely remembered the battle with Techbu, how the lightning bolt had struck him unconscious. He knew that this was a battle he could not win by himself, he would need help, and Inuyasha knew exactly where to find it. He planned it all out in his head as he lay there waiting for his wounds to heal. It was only a matter of time…

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A/N: I wrote this while I was half asleep last night, so I hope that the quality of it didn't take too much of a hit, either way, new chapter coming late Thursday or early Friday. If you have any questions about what happened then please post them in a review and I will be happy to answer them all in the beginning of my next chapter. Have a great day, and I hope you will stick around to read the dramatic finish I have planned out for this story. I promise it will be a real dandy.


	3. Mending Old Ends

A/N: Thank you to the few people who actually reviewed my story, I really appreciate it. Going into Chapter three now so I hope you enjoy it, as I am starting to try and make my chapters a bit longer, but it's hard until I can get all the characters together. Oh, and happy holidays everyone! Consider this update an early Christmas present, and maybe you could return the favor with a review…or maybe something even better…JK, but this IS the season of giving. So give me a review in return for my chapter or I don't think I'll write anymore. What do you think of that, can you live with that on your conscience? Huh? I'll go back to writing now. Sulks away into his dark, damp corner.

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**Chapter 3**

Inuyasha slowly awoke from his slumber to notice that it was already late night. He had been out all day, yet his strength had still not fully returned. He quietly got up and began to stretch out a few sore limbs before he climbed out the window. He had to get back to the feudal age and find some help, Inuyasha might be stubborn, but he knew when to give in. As he jumped into the well he thought about where he might find them, it had been five years since they had last seen each other. Miroku of course would be easy; Inuyasha had heard some rumors that he'd been trying to get on the "good side" of some princess lately.

Sango was last spotted about twenty miles north of his position, the last few years she had been traveling all over slaying the few demons that were still left, he guessed that it was the only thing left that gave her even the smallest bit of joy and satisfaction. He could only hope that the rumors were true, so he took off toward the small village that Sango was supposedly staying at.

With demonic speed and no one holding him back, he had made it there in almost no time at all. Quickly he asked around trying to figure out where she was. Sources pointed to the mountains where Sango had left for demon hunting earlier in the day.

Swiftly and silently Inuyasha charged up the mountain side determined to find her. At last he spotted Sango near the entrance of a giant cave, and she had been cornered by a hideous demon. _Seems her skills are a little rusty…_He shook his head in disappointment before jumping into the air while drawing his sword and slicing the demon in twine with a swift flick of his weapon. He returned it to its sheath before approaching Sango. "It's been a long time hasn't it Sango?" He started in an attempt to create small talk.

"And exactly what do you want?" She replied quickly trying to sound agitated, though she was glad to see an old face. Sango never talked with many people unless she had to, so for her this was a welcome change of pace.

Inuyasha couldn't stand wasting anymore time, he had to get moving again. "Listen Sango, Kagome got herself into some trouble and I would like your help in rescuing her."

She knew better than this, Inuyasha would never ask for help unless he was in desperate need of it. "So what you're saying is that you NEED my help in rescuing her?"

He couldn't stand wasting anymore time like this, who knows what that psycho was doing to his Kagome. "Feh, can we just get going?"

Sango was getting flustered, typical Inuyasha, always having to be such a jerk! But she had to look past that right now, Kagome's life was in danger, and they used to be like sisters. She remembered promising her years ago that she would always look after her, and it was time to fulfill that promise. "Alright Inuyasha, lead the way."

He wanted to reach Miroku's village quickly before he was burned at the stake for being to "touchy," so he simply tossed Sango on his back despite her clear objections and raced down the mountain side towards his next destination.

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Kagome was growing weaker by the minute, she hadn't eaten since Techbu had kidnapped her, which by her estimate must have been about two days ago. The fact that she was still chained to a wall dangling in the air didn't help either; her wrists were beginning to grow sore as the seconds ticked by. Kagome was beginning to pass away into darkness again when a man entered the room, her vision had blurred yet she made out a figure that looked like Techbu.

"I'm sorry if I've caused you any discomfort, usually I don't treat my guests like this. I may be a demon but I still have retained some manners." With that said he took a key out of a pocket concealed in his black robe and unlocked her shackles. He quickly caught her before she hit the cement and thusly placed her upright. "Come dear, you must be hungry."

Kagome hesitated slightly but realized that she had no choice. Techbu led them down many corridors and fleets of stairs. The walls were elaborately covered in beautiful paintings of unknown people; and a thick blood red carpet lined the floors giving it all a disturbing look and feel. Candles hung from chandeliers above their heads swaying back and forth even though there was no breeze at all. And there were also no windows in the entire place. It looked so expensive to her, all this beauty and art, yet she was still in the feudal age.

After what seemed like hours they finally reached the dining hall. Kagome stared in amazement at the pure splendors placed upon the huge table. Every food she had ever loved was placed on it. There were twelve chairs set up, with five on each side and two opposite each other at the heads of the table. There was only one plate that was set up on the right side of it. She of course remembered that demons don't eat human food, so while she literally stuffed her face he was content on just watching her, making Kagome very uncomfortable, though she tried to not let him notice it too much. Techbu simply asked some questions every few minutes wanting to learn more about her past, he was particularly interested in Inuyasha, when she was filled to her hearts content, Techbu rose signaling for her to follow him. "If you will just come with me I'll show you where you'll be staying for now."

Again they walked through a few corridors until they reached a room and entered it. "This will be your room for now; I hope it suits your needs." Kagome was speechless; it was exactly like her old room at home except, well…Classier and more expensive looking. "I'll leave you alone for now so you may get comfortable, oh, and I took the liberty of sending one of my couriers to pick up your clothes. I hope you don't mind."

Kagome just shook her head as to signal no, and with that Techbu left the room after telling her he would be back tonight to escort her to dinner. She explored it further, then collapsed on the well-crafted bed and thusly fell asleep, it was the first time she had felt happy since she'd seen Inuyasha again just a couple of days ago in her old room.

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A/N: Hope you enjoyed my latest chapter, as I won't be able to update again until probably after the holidays. Expect chapter four maybe around Monday or Tuesday at the latest. Please review as I only got one for chapter two, and I do REALLY appreciate it Sessy and Rin! Happy holidays everyone, and keep on rocking!


	4. A Noble Race

A/N: Well I'm back for another chapter guys, man I spent most of this Sunday eating chocolate. I know I heard it too; the horrified gasp of girls everywhere who refuse to eat the highly seductive candy, but why? To impress guy's maybe, so thanks, but then no guy wants some anorexic girl. No one wants to date a twig, so go out and eat a burger or something…If you're offended by what I have just said, then I was joking. If not, then I wasn't. I'm just messing around with you, enjoy the next chapter and PLEASE review. My last two chapters have only given me a single review for each! I'm beginning to think that nobody is reading this anymore. So please reinforce me by letting me know what you think of my story. Oh, and don't flame me for my author's note you just read, it was made on the sole purpose of making you laugh and lightening the mood up a bit before I start, so enjoy my next chapter!

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Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters except for Techbu, and if I see any of you guys using him without my permission you are so sued.

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**Chapter 4**

Kagome awoke from her slumber and thusly glanced down at her watch to see what point in the day it was. 4:00, that gave her more than enough time to take a bath and put on a pair of clean clothes, she thought to herself as she rubbed away at the sleep that was so evident in her eyes.

She got up and walked into her own personal bathroom only to find the one thing that she never expected. An actual working shower! But how did such a thing exist in this time period? Wasn't she still in the feudal age? _Perhaps he has the power to shift from realm to realm on his own; it would certainly explain a lot._ Either way, she decided to give it a rest and get ready for dinner. (I know what you guys are thinking right now, perverts!)

She undressed and hopped into the shower, the warm water felt so soothing against her grimy hair. She stood there rinsing off while thinking about what was to become of her. Techbu wouldn't go to all that trouble kidnapping her for nothing, there had to be a bigger picture that she wasn't seeing. She walked over to her closet and decided on wearing just a plain pair of blue jeans and a white t-shirt. It wasn't like Kagome was out to impress anyone anyway.

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Inuyasha and Sango had made it to Miroku's village in no time, unfortunately they had been bickering for the last half hour trying to figure out who would go in and get him. Even though she was reluctant Sango eventually gave in to Inuyasha's demands. She hesitantly walked up the stairs leading to one of the many rooms of the castle; she was just about to open the sliding doors when they were knocked down by some woman screaming her head off. Sango just sighed, "Same old Miroku" She mumbled to herself as she walked in. Miroku was sitting in one of the corners with his eyes closed and a huge smirk on his face; he seemed very content at the moment. She looked him over, noticing that he hadn't aged a bit and was as youthful as the day she had left him; he was even wearing that same robe.

Sango cleared her throat loudly as to announce her presence to the monk. He sighed and opened his eyes to find the one woman that he had ever truly loved. A wide smile crossed his mouth as he stood up and greeted her. Sango of course didn't leave her guard down, as she didn't feel like getting groped again. "It's been far too long Sango" He started out trying to make small talk to ease her a bit. "So what brings you here?" A sick perverted smile crossed his face as he spoke.

Sango of course just sighed as she explained the whole situation to him. "So will you help us or not?"

Miroku grinned, "Of course, I would never miss an opportunity to be by your side." He noticed that she was letting her guard down a bit. "I remember how close you and Kagome used to be. It just sickens me how someone could have down this to her, do not worry, we will find her." With that said Sango's guard had been dropped completely, and Miroku prepared to make his move. "I will always be with you." He was able to keep his voice even and calm as his hand slowly left his side and squeezed her ass.

"You never learn do you!?" Miroku received a series of ferocious slaps to the face as Sango unleashed her rage. "Lecher!" Could be heard for miles as she stepped out of the hut to join up with Inuyasha again.

The monk was able to squeak out one thing while his burning red face healed itself. "It was worth it."

So after they had packed up silently Inuyasha and Miroku struck up a conversation about their new enemy. "So do you know anything about this Techbu character?"

Miroku seemed very grim. "Indeed I do Inuyasha, I had heard about him over a year ago, though I had hoped it was just a myth. His history runs deep; you must understand that there was a great war long ago between your youkai and his youkan. This bloody battle raged for years until the youkai finally banished the youkan to another dimension. But somehow Techbu has escaped, I don't know how he did it just yet."

Inuyasha had grown pretty confused by now. "Wait a minute monk, why the hell didn't I ever hear about this war? And what does his returning have to do with Kagome?"

Miroku meditated on this for a bit before Inuyasha bashed him on the head as he grew overly impatient. "It is said that when the dagger of the Four Suns pierces the heart of a pure miko, his kind will be released from their prisons to rule over all the lands. And as for your other question, maybe you're just slow?"

Miroku was greeted by yet another hit to the head, this one was hard enough to form a lump. "What do you mean by pure?"

He sighed; Inuyasha could be so slow sometimes. "Pure as in virgin!" Miroku could see his half-demon friend blush, which was rare for someone like him.

After he had recovered they walked in silence for a while, each of them pondering over their own thoughts. Eventually it him, "Miroku, Techbu will need that dagger, now where can we find it!?"

He thought for a long time, unfortunately his mind drew a blank. "It was said that the dagger had vanished years ago. No one has yet to find it."

Inuyasha felt his heart sink; there was no hope in ever seeing Kagome again unless he could figure out how to get his hands on that dagger. As night approached they set up camp, and as hard as the three of them tried to stay optimistic it wasn't helping. Inuyasha had left to perch himself on a nearby tree to be alone with his thoughts, which left Sango and Miroku to talk and reminisce about old times together, and what they had been up to all this time.

A tear could be seen escaping from the corner of Inuyasha's eye; he knew that the odds of him ever seeing Kagome alive again were slim. But he couldn't give up hope that easily, he wouldn't. Slowly, he drifted off to sleep where his subconscious mind took over, and he started to dream.

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A/N: Well, what did you think? I winged a lot of that chapter trying to deepen the plot a bit. I think I did a relatively good job of it too, because it will only get worse as the next few chapters are hammered out. So prepared to become confused! But if you want to know what happens next and not leave you on this cliffhanger for too long then you better review right now! Do it now! Expect the next chapter within the next three days or so. Oh, and if you were wondering how Miroku knew about all this stuff, well he's a monk, so piece it together.


	5. Prophecies

A/N: Alright, somebody asked me about what happened to Kirara and though no one cares, Shippo. Well, they both died! I'll whip up a little background story for them here. Now Kirara died…um…in the…fight against Naraku…yeah, that's what happened. Shippo though is a different story; and it happened a couple months before they had split up. Now Inuyasha had convinced Shippo to dig around in Kagome's backpack to find her matches. He then got him to light one and why he wasn't looking; Inuyasha threw the gasoline container on him that he stole from Kagome's house during their last visit and well, let's just say that that was the best dinner they ever had. What? Don't you believe me? Ok, maybe I just don't want them in the story because they suck, but the background I made up was pretty good huh? Oh, and I would appreciate it if nobody called me a damn kid! I can't **stand **being called that; just keep it in mind when reviewing everyone. Now on with chapter 5!

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**Chapter 5**

Techbu had escorted Kagome to dinner and had again, bombarded her with many questions. It was really starting to make her uncomfortable. When dinner had ended he led her back to her room. "I will not be able to see you tomorrow, as I unfortunately have some business to attend to. I hope you will be able to take care of yourself while I am away?" He glanced back to see her nod and he continued. "Feel free to explore the castle, just don't get lost, and stay out of the basement." He looked stern, so she agreed fully knowing that she would explore it anyway.

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"Get up Inyasha!" Kagome could be seen pulling on his legs attempting to get him off of the couch. "The only thing you've accomplished today is lulling around on the couch and torturing my poor cat Buyo!"

"For your information, that cat was asking for it when he wouldn't stop meowing. And besides, I spend all my free time protecting you and the others, that all I'm asking for is a little me time once in a while." Inuyasha crossed his arms over his chest in an attempt to get his point across.

Kagome grew furious, "Sit boy!" Inuyasha hit the ground with a hard sickening thud. He knew he had to go with her if he valued his life. He just rolled his eyes while she hopped up and down and yanked him out the door.

Inuyasha had never been comfortable with riding in a car so they just walked. Kagome had explained on the way there that they were going to an old museum so she could teach him all about the history that had happened between their times. Before they even got there Inuyasha was bored out of his mind, to him, this was just a complete waste of time when they could be out hunting for more jewel shards. Hell, the only reason he was even going was to keep Kagome happy. He always did enjoy seeing her laugh, and that beautiful smile of hers. How he longed to be with her, to spend his life with her. He could barely keep his eyes off Kagome. Yet, he was just too afraid to tell her. Why? He did not know…

Inuyasha drowned out Kagome as he observed everything around him. Granted that there were many fine works of art, it just didn't appeal to him. The building itself was mesmerizing by its towering size and beautiful cool colors blended together to create a masterpiece in itself.

He tried to pass the time by checking out the ancient weapons they used before his time. "Feh, primitives. They're just a bunch of stupid sticks with pieces of metal tied to the end. I don't see what's so glorious about it that it needs to be memorialized in this place." He turned around to meet one of Kagome's famous death glares, so he quickly shut up in hopes that she wouldn't sit him.

He passed through the different times periods aimlessly searching for something to keep him focused. With the way she was flying around the place admiring **every** piece of artwork, it didn't look like Kagome was going to be letting him leave anytime soon. Inuyasha had eventually made his way into the hall dedicated to his time period; at least this would briefly hold his attention.

As he glanced at the various items he came across a very interesting one. He intently stared at its framework, it was well crafted, and there was no denying that, with rubies and diamonds decorating its handle above a gold finish. The blade itself was made of stainless silver steel, it was even still sharp. He read the inscription under it.

"_Dagger of the Four Suns"_

_This sacrificial sword was created and used by demons many years ago._

_Countless wars were supposedly waged over this single dagger._

_It is said that if used with evil intentions, it could destroy the world._

He stood there pondering over what he had just read; something about that inscription just rubbed him the wrong way. _Not like the way Kagome always does that makes me feel so…Wait now I'm getting sidetracked where was I? _Inuyasha struggled to clear his mind but couldn't, so he simply continued walking while searching the other various things hoping for something at least moderately interesting that didn't lead to thoughts about Kagome.

As he trudged farther down the narrow walkway he came upon something else, and his blood began to boil at the sight of it. How did they come to gain possession of this? He stared at the blade almost as if transfixed; it was **his** blade, the Tetsusaiga. He quickly scanned the description trying to restrain his anger as to not break the glass. It said it was donated by a mysterious benefactor who never left his name. But who could it be? "Inuyasha, Inuyasha!"

He awoke to find Sango violently shaking him. "You've been sleeping all morning, now get up already!" He growled loudly but complied, his head still swirling with dizziness for some reason. "Here, I made you some breakfast." She handed him a bowl and he ate it without a second glance. _A thank you would have been nice, _she thought to herself as Sango began to help Miroku pack up their camping equipment. It of course took a while to complete the task do to Miroku's constant advances on her.

When Inuyasha was finished eating he set his bowl down on the ground and began to think. His head was still searing with pain, so he decided to close his eyes and let it pass. As he did so he began to think, it all slowly came back to him…His dream…That was it! Quickly he leaped from the tree and approached his friends. "I know where to find the dagger, but I will need to go to Kagome's time."

Sango was the first to ask the question on both of their minds. "And how exactly do you know this? I thought you said last night that you had no idea where we could find it."

"It came to me in a dream last night, ok? You'll have to wait for me outside of the old Bone Eater's well. I won't be long, I'm just going to go steal the dagger and bring it back here with me. Then Techbu will be forced to come to me."

"Are you sure about this?" Came a quick and worried reply from Sango.

Inuyasha nodded his head as to signal yes and they quickly left for the well. He was about to jump in before Miroku grabbed his shoulder. "Remember Inuyasha, Techbu feeds off anger, the more infuriated you become, the stronger he will get. Do not fall for any of his tricks."

Inuyasha had to admit that he was pretty pissed off that Miroku had decided to just tell him this before he took off, but he decided against beating him to a bloody pulp and instead nodded. He could only hope that the dagger would still be there and that Techbu had not yet gotten to it.

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A/N: I just started trying to end the chapter as I'm getting very sleepy right now, hope it wasn't too bad, but let me know anyway. Because who knows what will happen next? I really don't know how I will end this story; there are two possible endings, one being the dramatic ending that ends it all, the other leading to a sequel so I can piss everyone off. So who knows which one I will pick, I'll just have to see how it leads up to the climatic ending and such…Now I'm just rambling on, so have a nice day and see you when I post the next chapter, and no, I really don't know when that will be. See you around!


	6. Battle for the Museum

A/N: Due to school starting back up on Monday I'll have to drop down to about one update a week, I'll try and get two in there but I always get a lot of homework so no promises. Besides, look on the bright side, the chapters will be much longer then. I know a good deal of you readers have been waiting for a real action packed chapter, so I hope this one delivers at least partly what you were hoping for. That being said, hopefully this one holds you over until I can find time to write the next chapter. So please, enjoy and savor this latest update

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**Chapter 6**

Kagome had long since awoken the next morning, and after she had finished her daily routines she decided to try and find out a bit more about this Techbu character. She was thankful that he enjoyed his solitude; at least she wouldn't have to worry about any guards around here.

Kagome slowly and carefully crept down the long and narrow halls searching for anything out of the ordinary. Unfortunately she could not find anything that she hadn't already seen. She continued on for what seemed like hours until the corridors suddenly came to a halt, Kagome blankly stared at the gigantic double doors in front of her. As she reached for the handle she pulled back in hesitation, wondering if she really wanted to know what was behind it. Quickly Kagome shrugged off the thought and stepped inside to lay witness to one of the most elegant rooms she had ever seen. The walls were lined with portraits of men and golden silk. The floor this time was lined entirely by a thick dark purple rug. Though this was all overshadowed by the gaudiest statue she had ever laid eyes one. It sort of resembled a frog with sharp fangs sticking out of it's mouth, but it took up half the room and was made up of pure gold.

Kagome walked through the room until she stopped in front of a podium with a dusty old book that lay atop. She then proceeded to wipe it clean and began to page through it looking for something that may answer a few of her questions. It took a good deal of time, but her patience was rewarded when she spotted a chapter entitled "_History and Nobility" _She skimmed it; apparently Techbu was the 'noble' leader of his race, also the last of his kind. They were supposedly much more civilized than their youkai brothers, preferring to stick together and stay in a single place unless forced to leave. They also refused to kill any human until it was completely necessary, as she read through this book it seemed that the youkan were a bit biased, preferring to bash the youkai as much as possible while trying to make them out as the bad guys. Kagome knew better than that though.

She yawned and glanced down at her watch, it was already 8:00, she better start back if she wanted to reach her room by a decent hour. Besides, she needed time to let all this soak in.

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Inuyasha silently and cautiously made his way through the streets of the city, making sure to avoid humanswhenever possible. He eventually came upon his destination, the museum. He remembered how Kagome had told him about something called an alarm system, used to try and keep thieves out. Of course he still didn't know what an alarm was, so it's not like that information was much of a help.

He climbed up to the roof making sure to stay as quiet as possible, but something was making him extremely uncomfortable. He ignored the feeling as proceeded to bust out one of the windows on top of the museum and drop in. So far everything had gone according to plan…

Inuyasha took only two steps before the lights shot on, and a familiar cold cackle could be heard from behind him. But why hadn't he smelt his presence? "Looking for this?" Techbu pulled out the dagger, causing the hanyou to emit a low growl and draw the Tetsusaiga transforming it in the process. "Ah, so you wish for a fencing lesson a? Well don't worry; I'll go easy on you half-breed."

He proceeded to raise his blade and charged at Techbu, Inuyasha swung the Tetsusaiga attempting to behead him, though he just parried it with a mocking expression twirling around Inuyasha and slicing his sword through his back. Blood gushed out, and pain seared up his back. The half-demon had to remain under control remembering what Miroku had told him.

"Do you really think you could match blades with a man like me? You're not even a full youkai; give up before you really embarrass yourself!" He practically spit the last few words out.

"Damn you to Hell!" Inuyasha charged once again, swinging his blade at every possible opening, but Techbu was just too fast, blocking every strike while seemingly mocking him in the process.

He swung the Tetsusaiga at Techbu's feet, but he jumped up into air flipping over Inuyasha and driving his sword right into his shoulder. Ignoring the pain, he spun around and sliced off Techbu's arm, he backed up while watching it drop along with the sword letting loose a sickening thud.

"Now you die!" Techbu raised out his hand while humming a few words. Suddenly Inuyasha was surrounded by a yellow mist and against his own will rose off the ground, with a flick of his wrist Techbu sent him flying into a cement wall. He proceeded to drop the entire ceiling above Inuyasha down on him, thinking that he had crushed the vermin for good.

_Damn…If only I could use the wind scar, but it would bring this entire place down with it. But I guess that already happened…Though there must be a way to beat him, but how?_

Inuyasha forced himself above the cement and climbed out; he grabbed his sword and prepared himself for the ongoing fight. Techbu simply turned around and held a shocked yet bemused look on his face. "Persistent aren't we?"

Techbu summoned his powers once again and began to hurl the ancient antiques that lay about at Inuyasha. He took off running dodging the flying objects as he went, he rounded the corner closest to the 'demon' and hurled himself at him slicing through his stomach spilling blood and bits of flesh everywhere. Techbu let loose a violent roar and grabbed Inuyasha by the neck suspending him above the ground. An electric current flew through his arm and fried the half-breed as he recognized it as the very lightning he had been struck by earlier in Kagome's room.

"I'm sorry Kagome." Were the last words uttered by Inuyasha before he slipped into a world of darkness.

Techbu tossed his body aside and slowly made his way over to where he had dropped the dagger. Picking it up, an idea crossed his mind and a sick smirk came across his face. He walked over to the weapons from Inuyasha's time and broke the glass swiftly picking up the older version of the Tetsusaiga. "This might just come in handy." He let out another cruel cold laugh, and in a flash of light, he vanished into thin air.

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A/N: Hope you liked the chapter, because I had a bit of a writer's block with this one and really just wanted to get it done. Expect one update every weekend, and anything else is just a bonus. Also, I never did tell you what Techbu looked like, so let me describe him for you. Think of Inuyasha, except ten times hotter and creepier. And yes, that was for all the girls reading this. I would love to hear your thoughts and comments, while any kind of review is welcome. Have a nice week!


	7. Fight for Survival

A/N: It's been a long week but I finally found some time to write the next chapter, mostly due to me having to miss school this Thursday due to catching the flu that's been going around lately. I also might be able to get another one up by the end of this week but no promises. If you are reading this right now then you better leave a review, I don't care what you say as long as you say SOMETHING! So thank you for your time and enjoy the next chapter.

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**Chapter 7**

Inuyasha awoke and opened his eyes much to the dismay of his head as a bright light flashed before him. The throbbing would not stop, and as he searched the room the memories came flooding back to him, the fight, the dagger, and the wounds. It seemed that he wouldn't stop bleeding, and if he did not get help soon he would most certainly die.

His thoughts were interrupted though by the sounds of sirens; it appeared as if the 'cops' he had heard so much about had finally arrived. He didn't want to have to interact with any people in this era right now, especially in his weakened condition. So he stood up ignoring the searing pain and just before he jumped through one of the broken windows into the back alleyway he picked up the sword Techbu had dropped during their fight, the arm disintegrated at his touch. He shrugged it off and left. Inuyasha continued on jogging at a relatively slow pace only to glance back every few steps.

He barely recognized his surroundings with his blurred vision but had traveled these streets so many times that he didn't need his eyesight to know where he was going. Inuyasha had just about made it to the end of the alley when a small shuffling sound came from just in front of him in one of the nooks that flooded the place. Acting out of instinct he raced over there grabbing and suspending the mysterious figure in the air prepared to slice its throat. He focused his vision to see it was a girl, flashes of past memories of his times with Kagome flooded back to him. They both looked so alike to him, releasing her he waved his hand as to tell her to go. She quickly took off down the alleyway after taking one last long look at the tortured hanyou.

Inuyasha stood there trying to shake off the agony that he was feeling, the pain was beginning to drain him of any energy he still had left. His vision was beginning to blur to the point of where he couldn't make out any colors, he knew he only had a short amount of time before he would pass out. Slowly he continued on his way while being on the lookout for any humans.

He passed lamppost after lamppost while trailing a thick red line of blood behind him, he knew he couldn't give up now; all he had to do was make it back to the past. He jogged down the street when he noticed the shrine away in the distance. He ran up the stairs and into the decaying building which held his time, more memories flooded back to him as he dived into the well. And as the blue mist surrounded him he lost all consciousness due to his enormous blood loss, he could only hope that they would be sitting by the well waiting for him.

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"Did you hear something?" Questioned a very worried yet confused Sango.

Miroku nodded, "Yes, I thought I heard it coming from the well over there."

They proceeded to walk over to where the Bone Eaters' well lay, to discover the one thing they were not prepared to face, an unconscious hanyou that was covered in blood. Miroku slid down the ladder they had installed so many years ago and looked Inuyasha over, he didn't seem very good. He tossed him over his back and began to climb back up the ladder despite the heavy amount of weight that was threatening to send him tumbling back down.

Miroku laid Inuyasha on the ground and motioned for Sango to come over to him. "Will you be able to help him?"

Sango attempted to mask her doubt and tried to reassure him along with herself. "Yes, but I will need some supplies. Can you hurry back to the village and grab some medicine, I don't think we should be moving him when he's in this bad of condition." Miroku nodded and quickly took off, all Sango could do was wait and pray.

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A strong yellow light flashed and Techbu appeared, he walked over to a table and grabbed a white towel and began to wipe off the sweat and blood droplets that covered his face. He proceeded to take out the dagger and placed it on a small knife rack before throwing his towel next to it. His rage was becoming almost unbearable, true that his wounds would heal and his arm would grow back with time. But the fact that he had let a mere half-demon do as well as he did just infuriated him.

He opened a book that lay inside a small dusty cabinet, and paged through the entire thing looking for a certain chapter. It didn't take him long before he found what he wanted, reading it he remembered that he could not kill the girl until the next full moon, which was exactly two weeks from now.

Throwing the book into the corner in frustration he began to pace back and forth. It was all coming true, within those two weeks the half-breed would come, but he would die along with his friends.

He took out the sword he had stolen from the museum before and examined it. "So this is the famous Tetsusaiga that he uses." Techbu mumbled to himself, "It seems that I will have to kill him with his own blade, what delicious irony." He then proceeded to storm out of the room to check on more pressing matters at the moment. 'They will all be slaughtered before this is over, and soon my people will rule over this land once again.' Techbu's eyes blazed a deep fiery red as he sped down the halls to his next destination.

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A/N: Hope you liked the chapter, and a little heads up is that the next chapter will reveal a good deal of questions that have been e-mailed to me as of late. Have a nice weekend and I'll try to get the next chapter up soon enough even though I have a bad case of the flu. So review, because if you don't then you'll die…eventually.


	8. Breaking the Chains

A/N: In the past few days I've realized something important, I've becoming WAY too much like Miroku. It's like they hid a camera in my house and just copied everything I did, except for of course the fact that I don't have nearly as bad of a problem when it comes to groping women, I can restrain myself! Either way, enjoy the next chapter and if it confuses you at all let me know so I can make fun of you. Just kidding, enjoy reading!

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**Chapter 8**

Inuyasha had awoken to the sight of an arguing Sango and Miroku, _probably grabbed her ass again_, he thought to himself as he started to get up only to be forced back down by two strong pairs of arms.

"You shouldn't be moving around yet Inuyasha; you did lose a lot of blood." Even though his head was still spinning he recognized the voice to be Sangos'.

"I don't need your help, I'm perfectly fine!" Inuyasha attempted to rise to his feet but dropped back down as he lost consciousness again due to the pain.

"Still as stubborn as always," Miroku mumbled to himself as he exited the tent closely behind Sango. He had to exert all the energy he had to keep himself from groping her again, but for once in his life he actually succeeded.

They sat down across from each other as Miroku attempted to make a fire; the sun was beginning to set and they still had to cook supper. "Do you think we will ever see her again?" Worry was evident in her eyes.

"Who" Came the reply even though he knew exactly who she was talking about.

"Kagome, we don't even know where to start looking for her, and Inuyasha's not going to be able to start moving around again for at least a couple of days. I just feel as if we're running out of time."

Miroku stopped what he was doing and sat down beside her, she did have a point after all. "Sango you mustn't think like that. You have to have faith, I'm sure that we'll see her again soon enough."

They embraced each other, and it was if time itself had stopped for them. Though Miroku knew how to ruin a perfect moment and soon there was an unconscious monk lying on the ground, and it looked as if she would have to fix dinner herself tonight. She sighed and set out to work.

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Techbu had long since stepped into his library; boredom had overcome him since there was really nothing to do at the moment. He resided himself to begin reading some books that he had stolen from the future, hell, half the stuff he owned had been stolen from the future or at least discovered in.

He had been so preoccupied with his thoughts he didn't notice when someone had slipped into the room. "Master," Techbu glanced up and glared at the man, his stupid servants never had the courtesy to knock.

"And what is it that you want?" Came the cold reply; however the man known as Deus remained unfazed, he had come to accept the fact that his master never really showed any emotions, at least any positive ones.

"As you asked of me before you left, I kept an eye on the girl"

"And?" Techbu never enjoyed playing games with this mortal.

"It seems she did a little snooping around while you were gone, and she knows about your race." Deus prepared himself to get chewed out for letting her find out so much information, but it never came.

"I see, does she know what we truly are?"

"I don't believe so master."

Techbu became furious, "you don't BELIEVE so!? Well you better find out!" He grabbed a book that was sitting near him and hurled it at his servants head.

Deus dodged the book but glanced down to see what he had been reading earlier in the day. It was exactly as he suspected, Techbu had again been reading the book of fates.

Deus just couldn't take it any longer; his master was so pig-headed. "What is your obsession with this book? You know he is not bound by it."

"Hn, every creature is bound to it; even you and I must abide by it."

How could his master be so ignorant? "He was bound by it, but when you refused to finish him off when you had the chance, the chain was broken. You were not the one that brought the roof down on the half-breed at the museum, that was fate attempting to right your wrong while straining to write a new future, but your refusal to kill him released him from the wheel of fate. He is now the only thing in this world that can kill you. The coin has landed Techbu, and now you must abide by its outcome."

Techbu rose from his spot and grabbed Deus by the throat holding him off the ground. "The coin is still turning."

Deus forced a smile, "You expect to kill me here? That honor belongs to another. You can thank your precious 'wheel' for that."

He released the servant and hell burned in his eyes, "He will return to the wheel before I am done with him."

Deus laughed, how naïve Techbu could be sometimes. "He is not your pawn anymore Techbu, and he is coming to kill you."

He practically spit out his next words with venom, "Free will is just an illusion." With that Techbu turned his back to the servant and began to walk out only to stop suddenly at the doorway. "Keep an eye on the girl, she must not find out what I really am."

"If you look in the book again you will see that new pages have appeared, a second outcome if you will. And as for the girl, she will not find out." Deus proceeded to leave the room; he knew that if nothing else his master would go about with more caution now.

Techbu was left with his thoughts as he quickly picked up the book that Deus had indicated, paging through it he realized what he said was true. New pages had indeed appeared as if out of nowhere indicating a second outcome, one where the half-breed would vanquish him. It was written as to be known as the final epic battle, the fight that would determine the fate of the world. Yet he knew that whatever the outcome would be, this time period would not be the only one affected, the future would be changed drastically as well. He must be careful and try to coax the hanyou into doing exactly what he wanted; this new piece on the board would indeed prove very interesting.

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A/N: Hope you liked it, and I will try to get the next chapter up soon enough even though I am still feeling under the weather a bit. I would really appreciate a review to help motivate me to finish the story, though I'm still debating with myself whether or not I should write a sequel to this one. It would drastically change my ending for this one, but would prove to be very interesting if nothing else. I would love to hear your guys' thoughts on it, even though it's still a bit early to be talking about a sequel. Either way, I hope you enjoyed reading this one as much as I did writing it. So have a great rest of the week and I will see you next time I update this story, which shouldn't be too long. Bye!


	9. Deceptions

A/N: Just letting you all know before hand that I was pretty happy and in high-spirits while I was writing this chapter so please excuse the fact that the beginning is not very dark, or mysterious like the others. But when chapter 10 rolls around I'll go ahead and try to pitch some more questions your way to try and confuse you even more because it's just so fun to do. And if you haven't noticed yet, this is one of those stories that will create mystery after mystery until the last couple chapters in the story where everything is revealed. So enjoy the next chapter and let me know what you think, and thank you to the two people who reviewed chapter 8, the comments were very helpful.

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**Chapter 9**

Techbu was sitting in one of his favorite chairs while staring intently into a red rubber ball; one would naturally assume that he was deep in thought, when in reality his mind was drawing a complete blank. Slowly an idea forcefully crept into his head, _exactly how is Inuyasha supposed to reach my fortress? He doesn't even know where I am, unless…_

His thoughts were abruptly interrupted when Deus swiftly entered the room. "Well, I got laid last night."

"No, you didn't," Came the cold and careless reply to Deus' claim.

"And how would you know?" Techbu picked up the book of fates and began paging through it trying to find his servants outcome. Deus suddenly realized exactly what he was doing, and silently cursed himself for ever mentioning it.

Techbu found the page and he did a double take not believing what he was seeing. "You disgust me,"

Deus quickly changed the subject attempting to escape with some dignity still intact. "Uh, anyway, the real reason I'm here is that the girl has requested your presence, she wishes to know what you plan to do with her."

Techbu gave an aggravated sigh, and told Deus to send her in. All he really wanted was a little time to himself, in exactly one week he would end up being overrun by his occasionally annoying brethren.

Kagome entered the room and Techbu motioned for her to sit down in the chair across from him. She began to open her mouth in an attempt to say something but Techbu stopped her. "I already know what you are about to ask so don't even bother wasting your breath. You are only here for your own safety, when I showed up Inuyasha was also there. I had spoken with him earlier and he had talked about how he was planning on killing you, he had lost his mind since you last left him. You broke his heart, and he just wanted to return the favor."

Kagome noticed the evil gleam that was so evident in his eyes, distrust filled her, but she attempted to mask it. The look that he gave her indicated that that was the end of their 'little' conversation. She was now sure Techbu planned on killing her. There was no way she could defeat him herself, she could only hope that Inuyasha would come for her before it was too late.

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It was nearing late afternoon, and despite the others objections Inuyasha was in the woods slicing down trees with his sword trying to rid himself of the stiffness he was feeling. He had only awoken earlier that day, but he had felt strong enough to go out and blow off some steam.

Inuyasha was still angry with himself over what had taken place no more than three days ago, only eight more until the next full moon and he was still no closer to finding out where Kagome was. He drowned himself into his thoughts so much that he hardly noticed he had cut down enough wood to last an entire village for a whole year.

After a couple of hours night swept in and he smelled the scent of an approaching human, naturally he assumed that it was Miroku or Sango coming to try and get him to come back to the village. His common sense quickly kicked in and he noticed that the scent was coming from the other direction. Jumping up into a tree he observed from above, soon a young man came into view. He had jet black hair, and was literally covered head to toe in dirt. And from the look of how tired he was it seemed he had either traveled a good distance or had been working extremely hard out in the fields.

The young man kept walking until he abruptly stopped right under the tree that concealed the hanyou. "You can come down from up there Inuyasha."

He stared in shock, Inuyasha had never seen this person in his life yet the young man knew his name. He decided to confront him; after all he was only a human. Leaping down from his branch in the tree, he began to question him. "Who are you, and what do you want with me?"

The young man flinched from the icy tone that was directed towards him, he really didn't want to die here. "I'm only here to help you Inuyasha, calm down. The name is Deus, it's a pleasure." He gave the half-demon a slight smirk before continuing. "I can give you directions to Techbu's castle is you wish."

Inuyasha was slightly confused, "You work for him or something?" Deus nodded politely and he continued. "Why do want to help me?"

"I've grown annoyed with him; he's ignorant of everything around him and believes that nothing can affect him." His tone of voice slowly became more malicious with each word. "That bastard needs to be put into his place while it's still possible. And you are the only one who can do it."

And what makes you think that?" Inuyasha was still quite suspicious of Deus' motives for betraying his own master.

"You are the only one who possesses free will, you can single handedly change any event in history." The only response he received was a blank stare. He sighed and went on. "You see, all creatures are bound to something called the wheel of fate, the cycle of life, death, and rebirth. This wheel is inevitable to all, their destinies are prewritten and they are oblivious to the outcome. But once in a great while a soul such as your own finds a way to escape the wheel and has the chance to right the wrongs of history to attempt to create a better future for all."

Inuyasha slowly began to understand what Deus was speaking of. He still didn't trust the young man; his motives had yet to be revealed. Though he could not pass up an opportunity no matter how dangerous it might be, to rescue Kagome. "Very well, where is the castle?"

"It's a five day journey from here at a humans pace."

"So how exactly did you get here so quickly?"

Deus cracked a bright smile, "I had help."

With that Deus began to walk away, leaving a baffled Inuyasha behind with his thoughts.

"I shall see you at the castle!" He was suddenly jolted out of his thoughts and realized that he had better head back and get ready to set out, he would still have a lot of explaining to do to Miroku and Sango, and there was no time to lose when the girl he loved, life was on the line.

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A/N: Just letting you know that Inuyasha's part in this chapter took place the day before Techbu's if you didn't catch that when you read through the chapter. Hope you liked it, please review, and I'll see you next time I update. Have a nice week!


	10. Realizations

**Important A/N:** As you should know already I've been giving a sequel a lot of thought lately. And I've come to realize that if I don't make one I will probably be leaving many questions unanswered, so unless you wish to play the guessing game I will almost be forced to make one. Of course, the sequel would have WAY more action, with still a good amount of humor every once in awhile. I also think that it would be much better than the original I'm writing as of right now. So please, let me know what your thoughts are on this predicament. Again, thanks for your time and enjoy this latest chapter.

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**Chapter 10**

Slowly Kagome was losing her mind; she could no longer take the solitude and seclusion that she was now feeling. There was once a time many years ago when she would've done anything for just a few minutes of this 'bliss.' But now, it was beginning to tear her up inside.

Her mind began to reminisce about the old days. How she missed them all, but she supposed it was for the best. Kagome couldn't help but wonder if she would ever lay eyes on them again.

What would life have been like if she had never gone, if she had decided to stay with them instead? Was the group even still together anymore? She had so many questions, yet no outlet for answers.

She glanced over to where her clock lay, seeing as it was almost ten at night now she reasoned that it was time to get ready for bed. Kagome knew that her friends would come for her soon, especially if Inuyasha had anything to say about it.

She smiled at that thought as she got up and began her nightly routine while giving a few last thoughts to the hanyou who still, after all these years, held her heart so firmly. The more Kagome thought about it the more she realized how much she really trusted Inuyasha, almost to the point where she would give her life without hesitation to him if he asked or were in grave danger. She shrugged it off and continued to get ready for bed.

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"Miroku, may I ask you a question?"

He stopped and turned around to face Sango. "Let me guess, you find me incredibly irresistible and wish to go out with me for some 'fun' tomorrow night? Well Sango, I cordially accept your offer." Miroku concluded with a suggestive wink of his eye.

"Wow, how did you know exactly what I was thinking? This must be a sign that we were meant to be together!" Every word that Sango had said was literally dripping with sarcasm, but the monk remained clueless, or at least he made it seem that way.

"Well, I'm glad that you're finally coming around to my side, dear Sango." A sly smile crossed his face but was quickly erased by a hand smacking him hard in the back of the head.

"For your information, I only wanted to know if you've noticed anything different about Inuyasha lately."

Miroku considered this for a brief moment, "He has seemed a little distracted ever since that strange human paid him a visit a couple of days ago." Sango just nodded her agreement, "Maybe you should go talk to him and see what's bothering him, I myself would do it but unfortunately I have to go into the woods for my daily meditation hour."

Before she could say anything to object, Miroku had already sped into the forest leaving a very angry Sango behind. She decided it would be better to settle the score with him later, right now she would have to try and find out what was bothering Inuyasha so much.

After a good deal of searching she had found him perched in the branches of a tree about a mile east of the camp they had set up. The look on his face made him seem as if he were in deep thought, which was something very rare from what she could remember years back. She guessed that he still hadn't realized he had company, or he just refused to recognize her presence.

Sango cleared her throat in an attempt to grab his attention, it worked. Inuyasha glided down from the tree gracefully landing a couple of feet in front of her. "What the hell do you want?" Came a rough, jagged voice that she was still trying to get used to again.

"I only wish to know what's been bothering you as of late."

He scoffed in contempt at the remark, "Like it's any of your business."

She just sighed; he could still be such a jackass sometimes. "It is my business Inuyasha, as long as we are all traveling together everything we do concerns all of us. It's time you learned that; I will not let you tear our group apart again just because you can't learn to open up once in awhile."

He knew that Sango was at least partially right, so he just began mumbling to himself under his breath. "Like you really have a choice when it comes to the outcome of our group,"

"Will you just tell me what's bothering you already!?" She was beginning to get extremely agitated.

Inuyasha was stubborn but he knew that she wouldn't let it go; he would have to tell her eventually if he ever wanted another moment of silence. Then again, after having nothing but that for the last five years straight, he couldn't complain. To him, it seemed like Sango was beginning to take the role of the absent Kagome, fretting over others WAY too much, at least to his liking anyway.

He sighed in defeat, "If you must know, I am only giving some thought to the days ahead of us. There was something about that man that I just didn't like, how can he be trusted when he went behind his masters back and betrayed him? It just doesn't make any sense; for all we know it could be some sort of trap."

"Do we really have a choice?" Came the strong yet gentle reply, "We have no other leads to the whereabouts of Kagome, and time IS running out. Even if it is a trap, we must confront it no matter how one-sided the odds are."

Inuyasha hated to admit it, but she was once again right. If he even cared a small amount for Kagomes' well-being then he had to keep going, there was no turning back now when time itself was against them. He sighed, "You're right, let's get back to camp now, it's getting late and we have a long day ahead of us if you continue to keep up your slow pace." Sango glared at him, but he just ignored it and headed back for camp.

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A/N: I was planning on making this chapter longer, but due to being gone a couple of days from school due to the flu I have WAY too much homework and tests to make up. Also, I can continue at the updating pace that I am going right now, or I can make the chapters longer if you wish, it would just take longer to update. Let me know which you would prefer, thanks and have a great week.


	11. Army of the Damned

A/N: First off, thank you for all the reviews that you have sent me; I appreciate it very much and am in your debt. Secondly, what the hell is with all the crappy fics getting posted these days? I mean, over half of Inuyasha are stupid ones where the gang is in high school and it's all about romance, love and pointless banter that's been done a million times before. Has my generation gone down the tube so quickly that they can't use their heads and think of an actual original plot? And when you do find a story with a good plot, it's littered with bad grammar, now I can put up with some, but most just get to the point of being absolutely ridiculous. You have spell check, use it! And if you don't, then just take five extra minutes to read through it and catch all of those obvious grammar errors, or send it to an editor to do it for you. If you're writing a high school fic right now and reading this, then finish it as quickly as you can, and try to write something that has never been done before, you will see just how truly rewarding it can be. This just makes me want to write a column on the different ways of coming up with plot ideas, and turning it into an enjoyable, fun story. Sorry for the rant, but had to get that off my chest, so enjoy the next chapter.

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"Bring me my army,"

Deus stared at his master for a moment before replying. "You don't have an army, master. Remember, you wanted to increase our science budget so you cut our military one to practically nothing. All we have left is a pile of old armor and a bunch of wandering souls from the dead followers that your keep in that giant birdcage thing of yours."

Techbu let these things register in his head for a moment, "No…" A slight smile spread across his face. "Very well," He began in a booming voice, "You shall herd the souls into the bodies of armor to create undefeatable super minions!"

Deus backed up knowing what this would mean for him, "Ah hell no, you know what happened last time I tried to do that. I was almost castrated!"

Techbu sighed, "That's just because you were waving it in their faces making fun of them for the fact that they weren't even real flesh."

"Hey, that's just because they needed to learn their place." He snapped back.

"The army is still technically higher ranked than servants, even if they are just ghosts." Deus started mumbling things under his breath before Techbu decided to finally silence him once and for all. "Would you like me to finish the job?" The servant started slowly backing up towards the door. "Go and do my bidding now!"

----------------

"He couldn't just send me some help huh? I have to spend my entire day sorting out a bunch of rusty old tin cans that are covered in at least three inches of dust for what? He doesn't even show me a little gratitude for this; he just pushes me around like I'm a nobody. Someday I'll show him, just wait, he'll feel what it's like to do such demeaning work…"

Three hours later he had finished separating the armor into their proper categories and laid them out for each of the 'soldiers.' Deus then released the lock that barred the souls from their destinations. They quickly and quietly floated over the pieces of armor and dropped in.

The armor began to glow a sickening pale green and they all stood up slowly, letting out a singular roar that emanated throughout the entire castles grounds. They all turned to Deus waiting for their instructions, "All of you are to report to your outposts with absolutely NO delays whatsoever. Kill anything that gets in your way that you don't recognize as workers or your master. Understood?"

They grunted in response and Deus dismissed them immediately, _I could get use to this,_ he thought to himself as he returned to Techbu to discuss the matters at hand.

----------------

For three days now they had trudged on without stopping, Inuyasha had predicted that at their current pace the castle itself would come into view within a few hours. The group was noticeably tired and disoriented having not eaten or slept in so long. But Inuyasha refused to let them stop for anything.

Dawn had broken only moments before, though to the weary travelers it was hardly noticeable. The days themselves seemed to blur together into one big disgruntled mess.

For the last hour by Miroku's count, Inuyasha and Sango had been arguing back and forth over practically nothing, almost like he used to do with Kagome, though his nerves were now shot from having to listen to these two bumbling idiots. He figured it was about time to intervene. "So Inuyasha, you must really miss Kagome?"

The monks' comment snapped him out of his pointless argument with Sango and back into the real world. "And what would make you think that?"

"Well you're obviously trying to substitute for her absence by attempting to make Sango your new insult bag."

Inuyasha quickly tried to come up with some snappy comeback but nothing was seemingly coming to mind. "Well five years of pent up anger and regret will do that to you."

"Hey, I missed Sangos' ass for the last five years but you don't see me complaining about it, lately we've been doing some all important 'catching up.'"

That comment earned him a roll of a partners eyes and a smack in the back of the head. Miroku just sighed and decided to get serious after rubbing the small bump on the back of his head. "You know Inuyasha; you can't let this eat away at you. We all knew how you truly felt about her from the beginning; the only uncertain one was you. In the end it was that very feeling that doomed you, fate's given you a second chance so you better not screw this one up too."

"Feh," _As long as fate doesn't stand in my way this time it shouldn't be a problem…Then again, it can always try to hit me indirectly through one of the others, though I guess it's best not to dwell on such things for too long._

Before they knew it, they could see the castle in the distance, it seemed Techbu never made much of an effort to try and hide himself from the outside world. Now that they were so close, they could set up camp and rest for the day. Tomorrow would prove to be very interesting indeed.

But when Inuyasha resided himself in the branches of a nearby tree as usual, something strange hit him, a sense of temporal displacement. As if something was seriously wrong, but he couldn't figure out what it was. Though it seemed to be resonating from the nearby castle; they would have to tread carefully if they wanted to live through this. For him, death waited around every corner and within every shadow, he would not risk the lives of anyone else for his own petty ends. This was much more than just a grudge match between Techbu and him.

----------------

A/N: Well, there's chapter eleven. I've got a lot of work to do in this upcoming school week, so my next update might take a little while, so I hope you don't mind. Either way, have a nice week and I hope you're enjoying my story as much as I am writing it. See you next update!


	12. Within The Shadows

A/N: Sorry for the long wait. But school and homework have kind of bogged me down. Either way, enjoy the next chapter and please review.

-

**Chapter 12**

"Interesting sword, wouldn't you agree?"

Inuyasha turned around to find Miroku holding the sword he had stolen earlier from Techbu during their first encounter. "So, what's your point?"

He began swinging it around as if testing it. "This sword obviously must have some sort of powers if it didn't break under the force of the Tetsusaiga, though it shows no signs of it. Strange…"

"Are you here to prove something, or to just bore me to death?" Inuyasha never really enjoyed making small talk or dancing around the subject.

"I'm just saying that this sword might possibly come in use."

"Aren't you forgetting something?" He tapped on the sword he already had.

Miroku just shook his head slightly, "You may not always have that sword Inuyasha, and you saw for yourself that sometime between the two times you lost control of it."

"Yeah, probably when I died, you know I never did quite plan on living for another five hundred years." He replied dryly.

"One would think that you'd pass it down to your kids after your death. But from what I've heard and seen, it appears you'll probably never have any."

"Are you trying to make me feel bad?" Even though he already knew the answer to his question, Miroku never tried to anger him; he only tried to give him some wise advice or counsel once in a while.

"Just hold onto this thing when we move in, I have a feeling you're going to need it." With that, he handed Inuyasha the sword and turned around walking away with the intentions to do some more 'catching up' with Sango.

He examined the sword he had just been handed back, looking at the markings engraved into it. Green snakes on both sides ran down the length of the entire blade, their eyes lit up the same color as if they were on fire. He began to wonder what great powers lay dormant within the blade, and if he should ever get the chance to witness them.

Eventually he broke 'eye contact' with the blade and sheathed it, remembering that there was a task at hand to be done. Inuyasha even began to wonder what life would be like if he failed. Would he even want to live anymore? He figured it was best not to dwell on the future and instead start living here in the present.

-

Deus and Techbu could be seen walking the halls discussing the matter at hand. "So, it begins tomorrow night then?" The young servant asked.

"Indeed, and I need you to secure the girl, while preparing the ritual grounds for me."

Deus cleared his throat, "Do you have any idea how long that takes, can't you just send in some of your guards to do the job instead? They are just standing around out there."

"They have a much more important job to do; I cannot let anyone interfere with this. You and you alone must do it. Now get to work slacker, I'm not paying you to argue."

"You don't pay me at all!"

"Not with that attitude I won't." And with a wave of his hand, the end of the conversation had been reached. Deus immediately retreated from the room grudgingly and set out to do his masters bidding.

-

Half a day had already been wasted and still Deus was nowhere even close to completing his task. The Sacrificial Chamber had not been used in centuries and now it was his sole duty to clean it.

It was once used as Techbu's old teleportation room, but ever since he had learned how to shift in between different time periods with his mind, he had had no use for it. So the bulky circular scrap of metal sat there, rusting away. He vaguely wondered if the strange thing even worked anymore.

If only he himself could use it to escape this tortuous prison, though he knew Techbu would eventually find him no matter where he went. Deus remembered reading an old book with instructions for operating the damned thing not too long ago. Perhaps he should 'take it for a test drive.'

Punching in a few numbers on the pad key signifying when and where he wished to go, along with how long the portal should stay open he pulled the red lever next to it. A bubbly blue liquid engulfed the center of it and he cautiously stepped through.

He came out the other end and surveyed his surroundings, noticing that he was submerged by nothing but cold, darkness, and trees. It seemed he was in some kind of a forest at night nearing late fall.

His mind told him to get out of there, but he felt strangely compelled to stay as if waiting for someone or something. A few minutes slipped by and he was about to head back when the air itself suddenly began to heat up. Turning around he came face to face with a pair of sinister looking blood red eyes. Flames seemed to spout from the very retinas of them. He could not see his face, yet he felt an odd sense of familiarity with this being.

"What brings you to my domain against your own masters will?" Deus stood there in silence, too stricken with fear to be able to move or speak. "Stop gawking at me, it's not like I'm going to kill you. There would be absolutely no point in that."

"W-What do you mean, no point?"

That shadowy figure began to laugh, "Because I don't wish to not only kill myself, but to affect the possible timeline of events that are about to occur."

It took a few moments for him to register the information that he had just received before it truly sunk in. And that's when he stepped into the ray of light that slightly illuminated the dark forest. It was himself, only as what he figured a demon, though his image seemed a little distorted. But how did this happen?

"Now listen carefully, you may have noticed my fuzzy appearance, it's due to the fact that I do not really exist yet. Thanks to that half-breeds 'free will' the future itself has written many different courses and outcomes. That strange cloud that is forming above your castle is the combination of all the different timelines attempting to become dominant over the others creating a massive paradox, one that could easily destroy the universe if tampered with incorrectly. It is your duty to make sure that ours comes out on top without killing us."

Deus stood there shocked, "But how do I do that, and why do I become a demon?"

"You shall find out in due time, but for now I shall only reveal to you my plan, which you better not screw up!"

Deus carefully listened to everything while his emotions ranged from sadistically happy to absolutely horrified. When his future self was done, he slipped back into the darkness from whence he came. Leaving Deus to return to his duties before the portal closed.

-

The group readied their belongings preparing for the short journey to the castle grounds. Miroku approached Inuyasha wanting to ask a question that had been nagging him for a while now. "Inuyasha, when you were explaining the whole temporal displacement thing, how did you even know what it was in the first place?"

He shrugged, "A long time ago during one of my visits to Kagome's time I was surfing through all the different channels on her TV, some show on the Discovery Channel was talking about it."

He just nodded; still not really knowing what he was talking about, but chose to just let it go for the time being. The rest of the walk was in total silence as they each dwelled on their own thoughts, preparing for the 'end game.'

-

A/N: I'd write more, but I'm not really in the mood right now. A wave of depression just hit me…so…yeah…Anyway, the next chapter will be the last for this story, and I can tell you that it will be about two to three times as long as the rest of my chapters, so say goodbye to the short ones forever. I promise it will be good with a lot of action, and it should take me anywhere from one to two weeks to post it, so be patient. If you didn't know what the portal looked like, think Star-Gate. Have a great week, and I will see you next time I update.


	13. Destinies Collide

A/N: This chapter will be jumping around a bit so please bear with me. Sorry about the wait, but I couldn't make up my mind about how I wanted to end this one. I think I have a decent enough ending to lead into my sequel. Also, I will be redoing a lot of my old chapters sometime when I get a chance, nothing too major, just filling in some small plot holes that were brought to my attention earlier. Thank you for your time, and enjoy the conclusion of this story.

**Chapter 13**

"Chain her to the table and put a damn sock in her mouth, the constant 'threats' are beginning to wear on my nerves. Our time has finally come, and I don't want to be nagged to death before then." Declared Techbu as he entered the sacrificial chamber followed by a very nervous looking Deus and a tied up Kagome.

"Yes, my Lord," Came the response as Deus proceeded to chain her down by the wrists and feet to a cracked stone table covered in dried blood. The stench itself was enough to cause a stomach to do flip-flops.

"Earlier I was informed by my scouts that three warriors are heading towards our castle, we must prepare for their attack. If I am to perish then it is up to you to kill the girl and prolong my people's race." Deus nodded and Techbu continued on with his work, testing different objects and items for their durability, finally deciding to fight the half demon with his own weapon which he had stolen from the museum during their first encounter.

Deus had never enjoyed serving under the man; he could only hope he should die so he may be free of his grasp. The only true question left was whether he really would kill the young girl. Only time itself would tell.

**((((Next Segment))))**

"You know, we may not make it out of here alive today. So how about you finally admit those feelings you have for me. Just in case…" Miroku winked before getting slapped upside the head.

"You're such a stereotypical male, the only thing that ever registers in your head is sex."

He was about to reply with a witty comment before Inuyasha cut him off. "We're less than a mile from the castle; can you two PLEASE shut up until then? We'll be fighting hordes of unknown creatures so maybe you should be reflecting on some sort of strategy?"

"Since when did you become the planning sort of person, usually with you it's all run in and kill anything that moves." Sango commented.

"Since I grew up, maybe you should try it." She chose to ignore the comment for now, being that they were only a few minutes away from their destination.

**((((Next Segment))))**

The group came upon the castle, completely stunned by its shear size and beauty as it cast a shadow over the land to the south that seemed to stretch for miles on end. One would think that it was night while traveling through it. They were lucky to have come from the other direction.

But as they approached the entrance Miroku became increasingly uneasy. He sensed something was amiss, but did not know what. "We should be on the look out, something doesn't seem right here."

"What do you mean?" Questioned the young half demon, he could not detect the presence of anything youkan related, for reasons he had yet to figure out.

"I sense that others are nearby, though they are not humans…Except for one, coming from inside that small room to the left of the castle, it could be Kagome." Inuyasha nodded his head in agreement and proceeded to kick the wooden door in revealing a spiraling staircase leading down into the earth. The passage lit with only a few stray torches.

A strong forceful gust of wind shot out of the staircase and threw them back outside, almost immediately being surrounded by Techbu's soul guards. Deus had spent an entire damn day creating those men, so they had better be good.

The three drew there weapons with their backs against each other as the countless number of spirits closed in. "Inuyasha, go and get Kagome, Sango and I will hold off these things as long as we can."

"The hell I will Miroku, I'm not leaving you guys behind!"

The monk looked at the hanyou seriously, concern gleaming in his eyes. "You'll die if you stay here, our only goal is to save Kagome, so do it already."

With a slight moment of hesitation, Inuyasha grudgingly took off in the direction of the stairs, slicing through two guards as they attempted to block off his path. Nothing would stop him now; he only hoped that it was not too late.

**((((May 24, 2005))))**

Two U.S. Navy Seals could be seen through the misty shroud of night heading up the stairs leading into a now hopefully abandoned shrine. Gripping their automatic MP5's as if they were their only lifeline. "Captain, do you think we'll be stopping anytime soon?"

The man turned around to face his comrade, "If we can secure the perimeter to this place, then yes, we can get some damn rest finally." The lieutenant's head dropped slowly signifying his doubt. "Look Luis, I know that we haven't slept or even eaten in three days now. But those things are still out there, staying still is a death wish. Now come on, we don't have all day."

The two climbed to the top of the stairs and stopped outside the front door. "Luis, go scope out the area surrounding this shrine. I'll do a sweep of the interior, when you're finished meet me inside. Call if you're in need of assistance."

"I'll see ya inside Michael," With that the young lieutenant left to go around the back. Gripping his MK5 he slowly bumped the front door open with his shoulder before running in and scanning the entire place. Michael saw nothing and relaxed a bit.

Suddenly a giant blur flew across the field of vision slicing through his left shoulder, causing him to drop his gun. The figure landed about ten feet in front of him, red eyes piercing his skull with a glare that was directed towards the young captain. The demon looked extremely young, with short, unruly, and slick jet black hair.

"So what brings an American to my land?"

Michael's right hand slowly edged closer and closer to the sword that hung from his back. "Who the hell are you?"

"I'd watch that hand of yours if you wish not to lose it. Accidents do happen you know."

"You never answered my question."

The demon kept a cool façade, "My name is of no importance to you, seeing as you won't be alive for too much longer. Though I am the one who ordered the attack on your team when you landed, such a pity that they had to die. They could have made good test subjects."

"Test subjects, what the hell are you talking about?" The captain's annoyance and temper seemed to grow with each passing moment.

The demon scoffed, "Why should I tell you? Besides, it would ruin all the fun I have in store for my other 'guest.'"

Michael's interest peaked, "What other guest, who are you talking about?"

"Enough of this, you bore me. Draw your weapon so we can finish this."

By this point in time, the Seals left arm had lost a substantial amount of blood. Not to mention the fact that it left a sickly looking gash that appeared to be quite deep. He would need to clean it soon if he wished to avoid infection, and that was something he could not afford to happen right now.

Ignoring the pain, he drew his weapon with the only workable arm that he still had. The demon smirked and drew his own blade, which appeared to be just an ordinary samurai sword that had been recently sharpened.

Michael knew he would be no match in his condition, but then again, what other choice did he have besides fighting? He became lost in thought and failed to recognize that his opponent had grown restless and was charging in.

Coming back to his senses, he quickly rolled to the right evading the oncoming attack. Getting to his feet, he ran in taking a couple of high swings attempting to cut off the demon's head only to have them blocked easily.

Michael's opponent swung his sword aiming to take off the Seal's bleeding arm. He managed to deflect the attack with the tip of his sword, but was sent sliding back on the floor several feet. 'Damn,' he thought to himself, 'how am I supposed to beat him when the guy is twenty times stronger than me?'

The demon took full advantage of this and began to attack relentlessly, though he managed to block all of them he kept being sent farther and farther back, the captain was nearing the wall and would need a plan if he wished to get out of this alive.

His stamina was wearing; the demon knew this and his power increased with each swing. Suddenly he stopped and stood there focusing, appearing to try and gather his energy for one final attack, Michael was far too tired to even move, he just stood there waiting for the inevitable.

Soon the demon charged forward and delivered the blow, the human raised his sword in a feeble attempt to block it. The two met with a thunderous clash, and the youkai was thrown back against the wall opposite of his opponent. Michael collapsed on the ground, staring at the sword that had just shattered into a million pieces. His last real defense was gone, and now he would need a miracle to get out of this one.

The demon rose and strode over to the fallen man, he smirked, "Any last words, human?"

Michael scanned the room in a vain attempt to spot any sort of an object that he could use to defend himself with. The only thing he saw was an old dusty mechanical device, it was shaped like a hallow circle and was emitting a humming noise. It seemed of no particular use.

Closing his eyes, he waited for the sound of metal cutting through flesh, but it never came. Instead something attune to a shrill banshee cry pierced the chilled night air. Opening his eyes to investigate, he noticed that that thing had somehow activated. A swirling blue pool filled the hollow center of the device; Michael became captivated by its shear beauty, and magnificence. He of course was not the only one distracted; his opponent joined him in staring at it, wondering as to why it had activated.

For several minutes they just stood there, waiting for their question to be answered, yet nothing came. The demon turned back to the man and raised his weapon to deliver the final blow. But a sharp blur flew across his field of vision, and a large cut materialized on the demon's face, who stumbled back from the unexpected attack. Green puss dripped from the wound, which he wiped away with his hand.

That's when Michael realized there was a sword stuck in the wall inches away from his face. There were green snakes that ran down the sides of the blade, he'd never seen this kind of design before, interesting indeed…Though he had bigger issues to deal with at the moment.

Unbarring the sword from the wall he quickly sprang to his feet and slashed the demon, (who was currently distracted by the overwhelming pain the cut on his face was causing) across the stomach. The very same green puss oozed out as the thing shrieked in pain, while retreating to one of the slits in the wall caused by the decaying buildings foundation.

"You fucking bastard, don't you know how much that hurts?"

The Seal glanced at his arm, then back at the wounded demon. "Nah, must be pretty painful, huh?"

"Arrogant worm, you'll pay for this with your life! I'll let you off the hook this time, but don't think I'll be so generous next time!"

"Good, maybe then I'll only lose a finger." A death glare was sent his before the figure disappeared into the night from whence it came.

Relieved, Michael collapsed in a heap onto the floor, the stress of the situation overwhelming his system. After a few moments of lying there the front door opened to reveal his comrade Luis. "Where the hell have you been Lieutenant?"

The said man rushed forward to aid his captain when he noticed the condition Michael was in. "Sorry sir, I spotted a man in black a few meters away from the shrine, I took chase but lost him almost immediately. It was like he had just vanished in midair."

It was the last thing he heard before his body overpowered his mind, and he fell into a deep unconsciousness.

**((((Next Segment))))**

A man watched through the shade of his black sunglasses the events that were unfolding before his eyes, seemingly displeased with the Seals resiliency. He was clad in a black suit that matched the turtleneck sweater he wore underneath it. His coal colored hair was slicked back, and his black shoes and leather gloves shone in the moonlight.

His pale skin was only visible on his face, though it held no expression. He kept a cool façade that could break a man's will if looked upon for too long. His chiseled abs and chest could be easily made out through his clothes.

The battle had now ended and the demon was retreating, but not before sparing a glance over to the man with the sunglasses. A chilling glare was sent towards the demon as it ran off into the night.

"Pathetic creatures, so unreliable…" He muttered to himself.

He stood there watching the injured Seal through one of the cracks, when he picked up the acute sound of footsteps coming his way. It looked to be the soldier's partner. He let out a frustrated sigh while a small frown appeared on his face. 'Damn nuisances,' he thought to himself as the soldier started yelling at him. 'I'll deal with him later; I have more important matters to attend to right now.' And with that, he turned around and ran off into the night, seemingly disappearing altogether, while leaving a very stunned and confused Luis behind.

**((((Feudal Era))))**

Sango and Miroku had their backs to each other, as the sentries continued to surround them. It seemed all but hopeless, but they had to keep these things distracted so that Inuyasha would have enough time to get Kagome out of here.

"Any bright ideas," Asked the monk.

"Isn't it times like these that you wish you still had that Wind Tunnel?"

"No…" Granted there were times that he wished he'd had it, but the damn thing would have killed him if he hadn't gotten rid of it.

"Do you have to think about yourself all the time?" Sango half-joked as she pulled out her Hiraikotsu and blocked an oncoming attack by one of the soldiers before throwing it through the crowd slicing up a bunch of the sentries.

Miroku was using his shakujou to block multiple attacks in between tossing out sutras that expelled the spirits on contact. "Damn, there are just too many of them!"

Sango failed to see the sentry on her right and was cut across the arm. She screamed out in pain and fell to the ground, Miroku turned to block that blow that was heading for her head. He twirled his staff above his head before ripping it through two of the guard's stomachs.

Sango recovered and they were back up fighting side-by-side, even though their energy was draining quickly. Miroku turned to the left in time to dodge a sword sweeping across his field of vision attempting to decapitate the young monk. Another sword came from behind him which he failed to block, this one causing warm blood to ooze out of his leg. He dropped down to one knee, and his attacker raised his blade to finish the deed.

The sword came down swiftly, but stopped only centimeters above his head. He kneeled there for a brief moment stunned before pushing the weapon away while getting back up to his feet. The sentries all simultaneously clattered to the ground and the souls were released, to finally rest in peace in eternal bliss.

"What happened to them all?" Sango asked, completely stunned by what had just happened.

"I don't know, but I believe our answer lies with whatever is beyond those steps. We shouldn't be wasting anymore of our time up here, Inuyasha could be in trouble."

Sango nodded her head, "You're right, let's get going."

The two then proceeded to race down the spiraling staircase that their friend had traveled down not too long ago, hoping that he and Kagome were okay.

**((((Next Segment))))**

Inuyasha emerged from the stairwell to find a dark room, filled with the stench of death and rotting flesh. The only light came from a few candles that hung from the sides of the walls. The place was completely empty, with the exception of some circular device made of metal under a giant golden cavern that seemed to protrude from the wall above it.

His eyes came to rest upon a table; the silhouette of a woman's body could be faintly made out through the dim lighting. He rushed over to find her; the one he had started this entire journey over…Kagome. He pulled the dirty sock from her mouth and peered into her eyes. 'Too long, it's been far too long,' he thought to himself.

"Bravo little one, I had my doubts that you would even make it this far." Inuyasha turned round in time to see his enemy emerge from the depths of the shadows.

"You bastard, I'll kill you," He withdrew his faithful sword transforming it in the process.

Techbu just laughed, "You really think you're going to win? Just give up and leave, no matter what the outcome is you're going to lose in someway."

Inuyasha dropped his guard slightly, "What do mean?"

He sighed, "Do you always have to be so thickheaded? I mean either you and your love will die, or you will permanently change the future…For better or worse."

The young hanyou had no idea what to believe, but then again what choice did he have? He could care less about whether or not the future was affected, besides, this was his enemy here, and he couldn't trust anything that came out of his mouth.

"But then again, I doubt you came all this way just to talk. Or maybe you did." Techbu withdrew the Tetsusaiga, chanted a short prayer, and the blade transformed.

"Least you're not as dumb as you look, Techbu."

The youkan scoffed, "I could say the very same thing about you, but I would be lying."

"Feh," Inuyasha picked up his blade and hoisted it up onto his shoulder and began charging in. Techbu jumped out of the way seconds before the blade made contact with the ground, leaving a giant hole in its wake.

He countered with a series of swift attacks as he easily maneuvered the blade with one hand. The hanyou dodged them all until blocking the last one while sending a kick into the gut of the youkan, sending flying back into the wall.

Techbu got up and sent a powerful wave of energy known to most as the wind scar towards a very surprised Inuyasha, who sent one right back at him. They canceled each other out, and Techbu threw a dagger at the hanyou which landed in his left arm.

He pulled it out and tossed it aside, "You'll have to do better than that if you want to kill me."

"You were trying?" Came the cocky reply.

Inuyasha just glared before readying himself for another attack. Jumping into the air, he sent a lash of energy out striking the youkan across the chest before gracefully landing beside him and slashing off his newly grown arm.

Techbu shrieked out in pain before slicing him across the belly and sending Inuyasha into the wall with his mind.

**((((Next Segment))))**

Deus watched the battle intently, silently cheering on the half breed, though he soon realized that it was time for him to act. Pulling out a sword from the rack located on the left of the portal, he rushed forward and began chopping off the chains that held Kagome.

He finished quickly and pulled her up, "You're coming with me."

"W-What?" Was all the exhausted girl could stammer out.

Now all he had to do was wait for the outcome of the battle.

**((((Next Segment))))**

Inuyasha slowly picked himself up, and examined his body. His energy was wearing quickly thanks to some of the wounds he had taken, though he wouldn't give up until all life was sucked from him.

Techbu charged toward him with his blade raised, Inuyasha rolled to the right narrowly missing it. Using the recoil to his advantage he quickly spun around and cut through the youkan's back. Blood spurted from the wound; Techbu turned around, dropped the sword, and grabbed the hanyou by the neck, suspending him in the air.

Inuyasha couldn't breath, his head was beginning to spin as he felt like his neck was going snap under the pressure. Running out of time and money, he raised his sword in a last ditch effort and plunged it into Techbu's stomach. His grip loosened a bit, and Inuyasha began to spin the blade in his gut, rupturing important arteries and organs.

The youkan dropped him and fell to one knee, the half demon back up a bit, still ready to finish him if he made a move. "Very well…Very well…You have now doomed everyone to a life of death and terror. Congratulations." Techbu spat out some blood onto the floor, while holding his stomach with one hand in a vain attempt to stop the bleeding.

"What do you mean, what will happen?"

"They will take over, soon after life will cease to exist. All thanks to you." He picked up the blade next to his feet and used it to support himself, his time was nearing.

"Who, who will take over?"

Techbu laughed, "You will find out soon enough, my friend. Though I can guarantee you that this will not be the last time you see me. Maybe not as an enemy, but nevertheless, you will see me again. Now finish me and turn around, to meet your betrayer."

Inuyasha hesitated slightly before letting lose his wind scar, vaporizing Techbu into nothingness. "See ya around."

He turned around to free Kagome only to notice that she was not there. He scanned the room to find the meaning of Techbu's words. "Deus, release her now!"

The said man and Kagome were standing next to the portal, Deus held a sword to the girl's throat. He pushed a few buttons on a keypad located next to the thing and it activated, a blue swirling light filling up the void in the middle. "I don't think so,"

Inuyasha noticed the worried look on Kagome's face; he slowly stepped closer to them. "Why are you doing this?"

"Simple, because I can," he stepped behind Kagome, both hands on the blade.

Miroku and Sango could be seen running in from the back of the room yelling Kagome's name.

"You want her?" Deus asked Inuyasha.

"Yes, I do." He replied in a soft and caring tone.

"Then here, have her." Deus brought the gleaming sword across Kagome's neck, blood poured out. He pushed her toward the hanyou and raced forward breaking the keypad with his sword and dived into the portal, disappearing instantly.

Inuyasha and the others ran over to Kagome, the half demon checked her pulse, he couldn't believe it, she was dead. He had failed to protect her, all of this for nothing…What if what Techbu had said was true, had he doomed the world for nothing?

The portal was becoming more and more unstable, as it grew with power; the twin snake sword pulsed with energy. It began shaking, and when Inuyasha attempted to grab it, the sword burned his hand. He jumped in surprise and the sword flew out of its sheath and into the portal, vanishing.

Suddenly, the earth itself began to tremble as boulders and rocks began to fall from the ceiling. "Inuyasha, come on, we have to get out of here!" Sango screamed through the noise.

Inuyasha lost all will to live as he stared into Kagome's dead eyes; unable to bare it he closed the eyelids in sorrow. For a moment he just sat there, unable to determine what to do next, an image of Deus flashed across his eyes, and his blood began to boil. He did this, and Inuyasha would have his revenge before this was over.

He picked up the dead girl and began to race up the shaking fleet of stairs with Sango and Miroku. Dodging falling rocks and other things, they made it out before the entire building collapsed into itself.

Inuyasha glanced up and noticed dark storm clouds had gathered above. "Come on, let's bury her and get back to the village." Miroku softly said.

**((((Next Segment))))**

They buried her and Miroku performed the necessary rituals. The trek back to Kaede's old village was done in complete silence, everyone too sad about losing one of their close friends to try and act cheery or even talk.

When they got back, Inuyasha said his goodbyes and set out to the well, he planned on finding out what Techbu was talking about. Miroku and Sango planned on staying in the village until he got back.

He jumped into it and emerged on the other side, the building was old, dusty, and falling apart. He could hear the rain coming down from outside. Inuyasha walked out the front door and was submerged into a world he never deemed possible. He gazed upon the city of Tokyo, now in ruins. It seemed as if civilization itself had collapsed, he wondered what had happened here.

Footsteps were heard behind him, turning around he spotted a couple of men walking up the stairs. They were dressed strangely, and one had a bandage over his left arm. He approached the two only to have guns pointed at his head, when they realized he wasn't a hostile, they dropped their guard.

"So who are you two?" Inuyasha asked them.

They saw no harm in answering, any friend they could gain would be a great asset right now. "The name's Luis Mendez and this is my captain Michael James Zimmerman. He pointed to the one with the bandaged arm.

"What happened to this place?" Inuyasha asked.

**((((The End))))**

A/N: Again, sorry for the long wait, but my school's baseball season has just started and I'm on the team. It takes up a lot of my time so please bare with me. Hope you liked the conclusion of 'Within the Shadows.' The sequel will start coming out in about a month or so, I want to work out the entire plot before I start, while also prewriting some of it. I'm afraid my story might lose some of its Inuyasha feel, but I guarantee it will still be good and worth reading, if not for just closure. And yes, Kagome had to die; she would have been a nuisance in the long run. If you have any questions regarding the story, then please just e-mail me them, and I will be glad to answer them for you. So have a great month, and remember to stay on the lookout for my sequel, whose title I'm still working on.


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